iWas there: 5 years of iPhone launches (pictures)

With the release of iPhone 5, we look back at iPhone launches past, including all the tired but dedicated line-waiters.

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San Francisco, June 2007

It's that time again: another iPhone comes our way. After five years, the hype hasn't died down. In fact, it's only gotten stronger. CNET looks back at the anticipation Apple has built, and those who queued up hours -- and even days -- to get the newest iPhone.

Here, hundreds of people jam Stockton Street outside the Apple store in downtown San Francisco on Friday, June 29, 2007, as they await entry and purchase of the first iPhone.

'iPhone World Premiere tonight at 6 p.m.'

The Apple store in San Francisco shut its doors at noon on Friday, June 29, 2007 in preparation for the launch of the first iPhone at 6 p.m that evening. Employees could be seen scrambling around inside, applying decals to the window that read "iPhone World Premiere Tonight at 6 p.m."

The iPhone 3GS goes on sale

Then, in July 2009, also on a Friday morning, the iPhone 3GS went on sale across the United States, and CNET News' team was once again on the scene at Apple and AT&T stores in Manhattan and the San Francisco Bay Area.